


Detour to Your Heart

by el_frijole



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-24 07:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12008442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/el_frijole/pseuds/el_frijole
Summary: “You want me to drive you across the country?” Keith asked.“Please, Keith? You don’t even have to take me to Boston, just to NYC. My sister lives upstate and will come grab me and bring me to Boston from there. I have some money that I was saving for spending money and I can pay for some gas and food and stuff.”“Look, Lance, I’m fine with driving you across the country. I don’t care, but are you really ok with being trapped in a confined space with me for three days?Or: Keith and Lance go on a cross country road trip filled with mutual pining and self-discovery





	1. Desperate Times

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is essentially just setting the scene and giving the background information as to why Keith and Lance are going on a road trip together. The other chapters will be longer, don't worry.

Lance was excited. Tomorrow was spring break and he and his roommate/best friend Hunk were going to Miami for the week. Lance had worked all fall semester and all winter break to save up for the plane ticket, hotel, and spending money and it was finally almost time to go. He and Hunk would be leaving the next day at six in the morning. 

Lance was sitting on his stuffed suitcase to try to get it to close when his phone buzzed. He looked at the display and saw that it was his mother calling. He figured she wanted to wish him well before he left and he answered with a smile and a happy voice. 

“Hey, mamá.” Lance greeted. 

“Mijo,” 

Lance was put off by his mother’s unusual tone of voice. She sounded stressed and exhausted, which she usually was, but she never let it show in her face or her voice like she was now. 

“Mamá, what is it? What’s wrong? And don’t try to tell me that it’s nothing because I know when you’re upset.” Lance said playfully to try to lighten the mood. 

“It’s your father, mijo.” 

Those were the four words it took for Lance to shut up. 

...

Keith, Hunk, and Pidge were all in the fourth floor student lounge of their dorm building when Lance walked in, rage written across his face and gripping his cell phone. 

“Bro, what’s up? You look pissed.” Hunk asked, standing up out of the beanbag chair on the floor to greet his best friend. 

“My mom just called.” Lane said, ignoring Hunk’s offer for a hug and instead stealing his beanbag chair. 

“Ok, and? Usually that puts you in a good mood, so what happened?” 

“She wants me to cancel our trip just because my father is in the hospital.” 

“Is it serious? Like, is it a serious enough illness that you should cancel and go see him?” Pidge asked, looking up from her laptop from her seat on the couch next to Keith.

“I mean he’s dying if that’s what you’re asking, but like,” Instead of saying something, Lance just shrugged his shoulders. “Who cares?” Lance asked, accenting his disinterest by throwing his phone at Keith’s face. 

“Ow.” Keith muttered, rubbing his forehead where the phone hit then landed in his lap. Keith felt a vibration run up his left leg and looked down to see Lance’s phone ringing. “Uh, Lance, your mom is calling.” 

“Ignore it.” Lance said, crossing his arms. 

“Give it to me.” Hunk sighed, holding out his hand to catch the phone. Keith tossed it over to him and Hunk answered it. “Hello, Mrs. McClain, it’s Hunk. Lance refused to answer the phone.” 

Hunk continued to talk and listen to Lance’s mother for a while before he bid her well-wishes and farewells. Everyone watched Hunk with baited breath to see what he would say about his conversation. 

“Lance, your mom says your father only has days left at most.” Hunk said, urging his best friend to give him some sort of normal reaction to this news. 

“So? Let the bastard die.”

“Lance!” Pidge yelled, scandalized. 

“Oh shut up, Pidge! None of you know what my father is like. You’ve never met the man and now you, thankfully, won’t get a chance to. He’s an asshole and no one should have ever allowed him to be a father.”

It was silent between the four for a moment until Lance’s phone began buzzing again.

“It’s María-Virginia. Do you want to talk to her?” Hunk asked, holding out Lance’s phone to him. 

Lance hesitated, but took the phone from Hunk and answered his sister’s call. Lance got out of the beanbag chair and left the lounge. Hunk sat back down in his original seat and the three remaining friends in the room all exchanged worried glances. 

...

It was an hour and half before Lance re-entered the room, looking less pissed than he was the first time around. 

“Hunk, I’m sorry but I’m gonna go to Boston instead.” 

“It’s fine, Lance. Do you what you gotta do in Boston, I get it.” 

“How are you gonna get there, nerd? Your flight is non-refundable within 48 hours of takeoff.” 

“Well, Pidge, so much for you getting my plane ticket and having a blast in Miami.” Lance said, examining his nails for dramatic effect.

“What?” Pidge slammed her laptop shut. 

“Well I knew that, Pidge and I was going to give you my plane ticket so Hunk didn’t have to go alone and so it didn’t go to waste, but now that you’ve mocked me and called me a nerd, I’m not sure I want to give it to you.” 

“I’m sorry! Lance, please!” Pidge yelled, jumping out of her seat and grabbing onto Lance’s shoulders, shaking him vigorously. “Please let me go to Miami! I don’t want to be stuck in the dorms alone over break!” 

Lance laughed and pushed her off him. 

“Of course you can have my ticket. Oh yeah, and Keith?” Keith looked up from his book to Lance. “Can I talk to you alone for a sec?” 

“Uh, sure?” Keith said, surprised Lance wanted to spend even a second alone with him considering they were supposedly ‘rivals’. “What’s up?” Keith asked when the two left the lounge and were suitably away from Hunk and Pidge’s range of hearing. 

“Um, well you know that I’m broke now because of the spring break trip I was supposed to take with Hunk and I don’t have a car or a license, but I need to get to the east coast and Arizona is a bit of a ways to walk to Boston, so do you think that you could do me a solid?” 

Keith knew exactly where this was going. It was no secret to the group of four friends that Keith was going home to New York City to see his brother, Shiro, who would be on leave from the air force for the week. 

“You want me to drive you across the country?” Keith asked. 

“Please, Keith? You don’t even have to take me to Boston, just to NYC. My sister lives upstate and will come grab me and bring me to Boston from there. I have some money that I was saving for spending money and I can pay for some gas and food and stuff.” 

“Look, Lance, I’m fine with driving you across the country. I don’t care, but are you really ok with being trapped in a confined space with me for three days?” 

Lance hadn’t really thought that far ahead. His sister had convinced him to go to Boston to see their father by any means necessary, but was driving for three days with Keith really going to be worth it? Was making amends with his father really that important to him? No, but it was important to the rest of his family and he would ruin his relationship with them if he didn’t go. 

“Yeah, I’m totally cool with it, man. Don’t even worry. We’ll be fine.” 

Both Keith and Lance walked back to the lounge with one thought on each of their minds. 

‘I hope.’


	2. Hit the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No problem, man. Now, let’s hit the road! I’m ready for anything!”   
> Keith was so tired it took him two minutes and fifteen seconds before he realized they hadn’t moved from their spot at the gas station.   
> “Lance? We haven’t left yet.”   
> “Uh, yeah. Just one question, before we head off… uh, how do you drive stick?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to unpack some emotional baggage! 
> 
> I'm hoping to update every other day until the fic is finished. It might end up being an extra chapter long, depending on how things pan out.

Lance yawned as he sat on the curb outside his dorm building. He was waiting for Keith to bring the car around so they could leave, but since Keith is Keith, he insisted they leave before sunup for some godawful reason, so here Lance was, cuddling his duffle bag in the darkness of the early, early morning. He was almost asleep, too, when a loud honk came from right in front of him. Lance jolted awake, leaning forward so fast his head almost slammed into the front tire of Keith’s...Camaro? 

“God, Mullet, I always knew you were an asshole, but a Camaro? Really?” Lance said as he threw his duffle bag into the backseat and got into the passenger’s seat. 

“What a great way to start off this trip, you insulting me.” Keith replied. “And for the record, this is Shiro’s car and he loves the thing to death, so don’t do anything to it.” 

“The thing? Really, Mullet-head, you should be more respectful around beautiful women.” Lance said, running a hand over the dashboard. 

“Weren’t you just insulting this car a second ago?” Keith was sure he was going to get whiplash from this trip, and not from the typical cause. 

“No, I was insulting you for driving her. Doesn’t mean I don’t think she’s beautiful. Name?” 

“Whatever.” Keith rolled his eyes and shifted into first, beginning their long, long journey together. “Shiro calls her Blueberry.” 

“That’s pretty freaking adorable.” Lance said, leaning back in his seat to get comfortable. “Wake me when we get there.” Lance sighed, pulling his eye mask down off his head and onto his face, shielding his tired eyes from the light of the rising sun. 

...

“Lance, you’re driving me insane. I’m pretty sure this is the fourth time you’ve played this song in an hour.” Keith said through gritted teeth, knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel too tight. 

“But it’s a good song, Keith. I want to listen to it.” 

“So listen to it once, then let the playlist run through, then you can listen to it again when the playlist is over.” 

“But I don’t really want to listen to some of the other songs on the playlist.” Lance whined. 

“But you just made the playlist! Literally not even two hours ago you were working on that playlist and now all of a sudden you don’t want to listen to those songs?! Why did you put them on the playlist then?!” Keith was practically yelling at this point, and Lance was sure if he looked close enough, he’d see steam coming from Keith’s ears.

“It’s no big deal. I changed my mind about some of the songs. It happens.” 

“God, you are the worst D.J. in the history of Blueberry’s passengers!” 

“I get the feeling I’m the only D.J. in the history of Blueberry’s passengers.” Lance argued. 

“Well you’re not.” Keith mumbled. 

“I heard that.” 

“Of course you did! We’re in a very small space and in very close proximity to each other!” 

It was obvious to both the boys in the car that Keith was tired. Lance was pretty sure that this is the loudest he’s ever heard Keith and Keith was pretty sure this was the closest he’s ever been to actual homicide. Lance knew he should probably give Keith a break since he technically could kick him out of the car at any time, and Lance did feel guilty for tagging along last minute, but seeing Keith so red in the face was cute, no, funny! Lance totally meant funny. It was funny. Definitely not cute. 

“Do you… want me to drive so you can get some sleep?” Lance asked tentatively.

“You can’t drive.” Keith stated. 

“I can drive, I just don’t have a license. Look, you’ve been driving for twelve hours already. We’re on a highway and there’s nothing wrong with Blueberry, so as long as I go the speed limit we won’t get pulled over. It’ll give you a chance to get some sleep, at least.” 

Keith stared at the open stretch of highway before him. The flat, straight landscape was driving him insane. He felt like he could pass out right then and there, but he hadn’t wanted to stop at a motel yet. 

“Fine. We can switch when we enter Oklahoma.” 

“Yes! Now I can listen to whatever I want to and not have to listen to you insulting my D.J.ing skills.” Lance said, excited for the first time since the trip began. 

When the two finally crossed the state border into Oklahoma and managed to find a rest stop, Keith pulled off the highway. 

“I’ll grab snacks if you fill her up?” Lance asked. 

Keith was too tired to provide a verbal answer so he instead just nodded his head and walked to the passenger’s side of the car where the fuel tank was located. Lance walked across the other rows of gas pumps and into the convenience store that was attached to the pumps. He perused the shelves for his favorite snacks and drinks, as well as some things for Keith. Lance went up to the register and dumped all his snacks down onto the counter. The old man behind the counter began scanning and bagging the items. 

“Can I get you anything else?” He asked, a scripted response Lance was used to denying, but something caught his eye behind the old man. 

“Actually, yeah.” 

Keith was waiting in the passenger’s seat of Blueberry when Lance came out of the store. He had three bags of snacks and drinks and he handed them to Keith through his open window before jogging around to the other side of the car and hopping in the driver’s seat. 

“I got you something!” Lance said, excitedly. 

“I would hope so, I’m starving.” 

“Well, first off it’s not my fault that you didn’t get lunch when we stopped last,”

“Eating would have made me sleepy.” Keith interrupted. 

“Second,” Lance continued, ignoring Keith. “It’s in addition to the snacks I got you! Here, look!” Lance excitedly shoved something small into Keith’s hands. 

Keith looked down to reveal what Lance had bought for him. 

“A lighter? I don’t smoke.” 

“So? It’s not about whether or not you smoke, having a lighter on you is always a good idea, and besides, look! It’s got a little UFO and alien on it.” Lane pointed to the design on the lighter. “Because you like aliens and stuff.” 

Keith examined the lighter closer and indeed saw the UFO beaming up an alien shaped silhouette. Keith was moderately surprised that Lance would get him something simply because it reminded him of him, despite there being no actual purpose or function to the gift. It was… nice? Were things Lance did nice? Not usually for Keith, but he had seen this type of behavior shown to Hunk and Pidge before, so Lance was capable of it. 

“Thanks.” Keith said, face tinting red, small smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

“No problem, man. Now, let’s hit the road! I’m ready for anything!” 

Keith was so tired it took him two minutes and fifteen seconds before he realized they hadn’t moved from their spot at the gas station. 

“Lance? We haven’t left yet.” 

“Uh, yeah. Just one question, before we head off… uh, how do you drive stick?” 

Keith groaned. He should have known it was too good to be true. Of course Lance didn’t know how to drive stick. Keith weighed his options. He could either go back to driving and they could find a motel nearby, or Keith could calmly explain how to drive stick to Lance. He would only have to upshift and once he made it onto the highway, he wouldn’t have to shift anymore because he’d be going a constant speed. Worst case scenario was he would stall out when he exited the highway, which wasn’t too big of a deal. 

“Just push in the clutch and put the car into first gear, which is over here.” Keith pointed to the area where the gearshift would have to go. “Then you ease off the clutch at the same time you’re pressing down the gas. Then you just do that every time you have to upshift or downshift.” 

“Ok, so like this?” 

If Keith wasn’t so tired, he would have lost his shit. Lance was somehow someway able to perfectly drive a stick shift the very first time he tried it. It took Keith days to master it and Lance could just do it like it was nothing?! Unbelievable!   
And just like it was nothing, Lance got Blueberry back onto the highway and was driving like he’d been doing it his whole life. 

“So who taught you how to drive?” Keith asked, slightly dozing off. 

“Oh, uh… my dad did.” 

And that was the end of that conversation. Keith closed his eyes fully and was immediately asleep. 

...

“Where are we?” Keith asked, yawning and stretching as best he could in the small confines of the Camaro. 

“McDonald’s.” Lance answered, getting out of the car. 

“Ok, yeah I got that,” Keith said, pausing to get out of the car and stretch some more. “But what state?” 

“I dunno. I don’t pay attention to road signs.” Lance shrugged and began walking inside the building, Keith shuffling along behind him. 

Once the two placed their orders and got their food they sat down at a booth together. 

“Congrats on not getting pulled over.” Keith said, taking a bite of his burger. 

“Thanks, man! I’m pretty proud of myself.” 

It was silent for a few moments while the two boys ate their food. Each of them would steal occasional glances at the other, just barely missing catching each other’s eyes. 

“It took Shiro six days to teach me how to drive Blueberry, but you got it instantly.” 

Lance knew this wasn’t Keith making fun of him. It was just a statement; a fact about his life that Keith was sharing with Lance, and another interpretation of this statement could be that it was a compliment, in Keith’s own weird way.

“My… dad… really wanted me to learn how to drive stick. He thought it was important to know, just in case of emergencies or anything like that.” 

Keith looked into Lance’s eyes to gauge whether or not he should probe Lance further. 

“If he’s the one who taught you how to drive, then how come he didn’t teach you stick if he wanted you to know it?” 

Lance looked at Keith with a genuine look of relief. Was it really that surprising to Lance that Keith would be nice to him in a moment like this? 

“I refused to learn. I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t even look at his car. He was so awful to me that if he wanted something for me then I refused it. So my mom forced him to teach me to drive automatic. He was pissed, of course, and acted like an even bigger asshole to me after that, but… I don’t know. I just thought that denying him everything he ever wanted for me was my job in life. Ever since…” Lance looked to Keith for acceptance to continue the conversation. He would stop right then and there if Keith wasn’t comfortable or if he wanted to head back on the road. Keith gave Lance a solid look, one that told him to continue and that he was there for him, so he did. “Ever since I came out to my parents as bisexual when I was thirteen my dad just started hating me.”

There it was. The floodgates were open and Keith was now about to get the full Lance backstory. The line between acquaintances and friends had just been crossed. No longer could Keith and Lance say they were just friends of each other’s friends. With this confession from Lance, the two boys would bond closer than they ever had before. 

Keith was used to their ‘rivalry’, but being friends? Surprisingly, Keith preferred it that way. 

“He was a jerk to me when I was younger because I wanted to like both the boys and girls in my classes. He always yelled at me if I tried to tell him about a boy I liked. I never understood it because he and my mom always voted democrat and promoted themselves to be completely accepting of anyone for any reason. It was so crazy to me to have my dad yelling at me for something he raised me to see as normal and natural. So when I finally came out officially, he just lost it. He refused to acknowledge my sexuality. He just pretended I never came out. You know he wouldn’t even let me go the prom unless I went with a girl. I wasn’t allowed to go alone and I wasn’t allowed to go with a guy. He absolutely refused to let me go. It was awful because there had actually been a guy who asked me to prom and I really wanted to go with him, but I had to say no and I missed my senior prom.” 

Keith didn’t know what to say. What could he say? Should he even say anything? Saying nothing felt like it was worse than saying something, even if it was the wrong thing to say. Lance was hurting, Keith could tell. He wondered if Hunk knew these things about Lance. 

“Lance, I’m sorry. Does… Hunk know about this? About any of this?” Keith couldn’t stop himself from asking, and besides, maybe Keith could text Hunk for advice later on.

Lance laughed. 

“No, actually. I just always avoided the subject of my dad whenever it came up. I never felt comfortable enough to talk about it before.” 

It was quiet for a moment. Maybe Keith should lighten the mood? 

“Well… I’m glad you felt comfortable in this strange McDonald’s in a state we don’t know the name of at one in the morning.” 

Lance looked at Keith with a confused expression. 

“Was that… Was that a joke? Were you making a joke?” 

“Yeah… trying to lighten the mood I guess. Sorry.” Keith said, shying away from Lance’s gaze. 

Lance burst out into laughter. Keith was startled by the noise and looked up at Lance to make sure the other boy wasn’t choking or dying or crying, but no, he was laughing. Laughing at Keith’s poor excuse to lighten the mood. 

“Thanks, Keith. Really, I mean it.” 

And with that being said, the two threw out their trash and got back on the road, Keith taking over the driving again to give Lance some time to rest. Emotional outbursts usually take a lot out of people, and Keith wasn’t ready to subject Blueberry to a tired Lance driving. 

Keith had been driving no more than five minutes before Lance was softly snoring, leaning against the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr, if you'd like to follow it, is el-frijole.tumblr.com  
> come say hi!


	3. Down for the Count

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well you know how to get a song out of your head, right?”   
> “Stop listening to it?”   
> “No, Keith, you don’t stop listening to it. You listen to it from start to finish!”   
> As Lance said that, he restarted the song and that was when Keith snapped. Keith grabbed Lance’s phone out of his hands and pulled the aux cord out of it, rolled down his window, and tossed the phone out.
> 
> or: feelings demand to be felt and an intimate moment ends in tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more chapters! I have them all planned out and some of the next chapter written. If this chapter ends a bit abruptly it's because I wasn't really sure where to make the chapter break, so I just put it where it fit the best.

“Aha! I see you, Keith! Don’t think I haven’t noticed!” 

“Noticed what?” Keith asked, sighing. 

“You’re tapping your finger on the steering wheel to my song. You like my song!” 

Keith looked down at where his hands were gripping the steering wheel and sure enough, his finger was tapping along to the beat of the song. He immediately held it still and glanced over at Lance. 

“It’s only because you’ve played this same song at least four hundred times since we left school. It’s just stuck in my head.” 

Lance reached for where his phone was resting on the dashboard connected to the aux cord. 

“Well you know how to get a song out of your head, right?” 

“Stop listening to it?” 

“No, Keith, you don’t stop listening to it. You listen to it from start to finish!” 

As Lance said that, he restarted the song and that was when Keith snapped. Keith grabbed Lance’s phone out of his hands and pulled the aux cord out of it, rolled down his window, and tossed the phone out. It took Keith all of two seconds to realize what he’d done, and he slammed on the brakes. Luckily, they weren’t on the highway and it was the early hours of the morning, so he hadn’t caused an accident. Keith looked at Lance, who had a shocked expression on his face, then shifted into reverse and backed up down the road, before finally parking on the shoulder. 

Keith said nothing to Lance as he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. Keith pulled out his own phone to use as a flashlight to search for the phone he tossed out the window only minutes before. As soon as Lance realized Keith was out of the car, he quickly followed, running over to where Keith was crouched on the ground, rummaging through the dirt on the left shoulder of the road. 

“Keith…” 

“What?!” Keith snapped back. 

“What are you doing?” Lance asked calmly as to not elicit another angry response from the boy. 

“I’m looking for your phone.” 

Lance looked down at Keith. His first thought was about how good Keith looked on his hands and knees, but Lance quickly pushed that thought out of his mind and his second thought was: Why is Keith doing something nice for me?

“Why are you doing something nice for me?”

“I don’t really think I’d consider this doing something nice. I’m the one who threw your phone out the window in the first place. I figure I should find it for you.” 

“Look, Keith, let’s just forget about it. Wherever it is it’s probably broken. Let’s just head back on the road.” 

“No. I shouldn’t have thrown your phone, I don’t even know why I did, but I’m going to find it, ok? Just let me do this.” 

Lance sighed and walked over to the other side of where Keith was rummaging around the roadside foliage. He sat on the guardrail that protected cars from driving off the edge of the hillside they were on. Lance watched Keith for a while, watched him fumble around in the darkness in a futile search for his surely busted phone. It was quiet between the two for the twenty minutes that Keith searched and searched for the phone he so carelessly tossed out of a moving car. 

When he officially gave up his search, Keith sat down on the guardrail next to Lance. 

“I couldn’t find your phone.” 

“It’s alright.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” 

“But it’s not alright! Why won’t you ever get angry? Back at McDonald’s you only got mildly upset about your father, so what’s the deal? You can’t be as calm as you always seem to be, and if you are it isn’t fair.” Keith said, mumbling the last part, but Lance heard him anyways.

In the darkness of the early morning and the solitude of the hill they were on, Lance felt comfortable enough to speak openly about his childhood. 

“My dad wasn’t just an asshole, you know.” 

“What?” Keith couldn’t tell where Lance was going with this.

“He was also an angry asshole. He wasn’t just disappointed with me liking boys, he was angry about it. After I came out almost everything I did was a fight. I fought with my dad non-stop, over everything. It didn’t matter what I did, it always had to go back into my sexuality. If I wanted a different cereal than my siblings there would be a fight. ‘Is this because you just have to be different, Lance?’ He would say. ‘Did some boy tell you that it was good, is that why you want it?’ Shit like that. It was the worst. By the time I moved out for college, I was just done with being angry. I was over it. So I try not to let on that things bother me. I bottle it up.”

Keith didn’t waste a second responding to Lance. 

“That doesn’t seem healthy.” 

“Never said it was, Mullet.” 

Keith elected to ignore what Lance called him. He felt like he should comfort Lance in some way, but how? What would be a good way to comfort him? The Keith way to comfort was to not comfort at all and let someone else do it, but Keith couldn’t take that approach right now. There wasn’t anyone else to help Lance through this tough time. He probably should have known that the trip would involve some emotional support, but for some reason, he just didn’t think that far ahead. 

Keith tried to think of a way that would comfort Lance. Lance was a physical person. He was always cuddling with Hunk and hugging people when he saw them around campus. Maybe a physical gesture would comfort him? Keith looked down at where Lance’s hand rested on the side of the guardrail. Keith swallowed any residual doubts and placed his hand over Lance’s. Without missing a beat or even looking at him, Lance flipped his hand over and intertwined his fingers with Keith’s. 

It was silent between the two of them.

Lance was struggling with a lot of inner demons. He had always hated his father, but here he was, on a cross-country journey to visit him before he kicked it. It was like he was watching his entire life with his father flash before his eyes, but over the course of multiple days. He didn’t think the journey would be like this. Had he known, he probably wouldn’t have gone. He was beginning to have intense feelings of guilt, which he knew he shouldn’t feel. It was his father who hated him and who was an asshole to him. His father made his home life awful. It was his father who made him want to move across the country; anywhere, he had thought while applying to colleges, that was beyond visiting distance. So why now was he feeling guilty? 

“It’s not fair.” 

Lance spoke so quietly, Keith wasn’t sure if he had actually said anything at all, but when he turned to look at Lance, he saw his lip quivering and his eyes watering. 

“What’s not fair?” Keith asked, squeezing Lance’s hand. 

“I shouldn’t be the one feeling guilty.” 

With that, tears began falling from Lance’s eyes. He didn’t have enough time to react and the first sob left his mouth audibly, causing him to throw his hand up to cover his mouth and quiet his cries. Keith squeezed his hand again and Lance looked into his eyes for a moment before he pulled his hand from Keith’s grip and walked a few steps away. Keith hadn’t signed up for this. He was just supposed to drive him to New York, not help him unpack his emotional baggage. 

“Hey, where are you going?” Keith asked. 

It took Lance a moment to compose himself before he could respond. 

“You didn’t - You don’t need this. It’s my shit to deal with.” 

“Woah, ok, Lance, hold on.” Keith said, grabbing Lance’s wrist. “No one else is here to help you deal with this stuff, so who do you think is going to? I’m here on this trip with you and I’m-I’m here for you. If you need me, that is, which I really think you do.”

“You’re here for me?” 

“Yeah. We’re friends, right?” Keith asked, unsure himself if it was alright to call them that.

Lance pulled Keith into a hug. Being friends with Keith and not ‘rivals’ seemed good, so then why did it hurt to hear?

“Thanks, Keith.” Lance said after a few moments of hugging.

“No problem, Lance. Don’t get so stuck in your head. You’ve got someone on this trip with you so don’t be afraid to talk to me about stuff.” Keith said, placing a hand on Lance’s shoulder.

The two stood like that for no more than three seconds, yet it still took everything Keith had in him to not lean up and kiss Lance. Why? Maybe Keith just had a thing for vulnerable men. Lance and Keith walked back over to the car and got in, Keith driving and Lance quietly crying in the passenger’s seat, facing away from Keith to keep him from seeing, although that didn’t stop Keith from hearing his sniffles and seeing him wipe his eyes. 

…

Keith was buying snacks while Lance was filling up the car when Shiro called.

“Hey, Keith!” Shiro’s happy voice greeted Keith when he answered the phone. 

“Hey, Shiro. Did you get home early?” 

“Not exactly. Where are you now?” Shiro asked. 

“I’m getting snacks while Lance fills up the car.” Keith answered nonchalantly. 

“Lance? Why are you with Lance?” 

Keith was instantly reminded that he hadn’t actually talked to Shiro since three days before he left, so it follows that Shiro wouldn’t know that Lance was now accompanying Keith on his journey home. 

“Sorry, I guess I forgot to tell you. Lance has to go home to Boston so I was bringing him across the country with me.” 

“Have you guys been sharing the driving? Will you be back in the city earlier than expected?” Shiro asked. 

“Yeah, I should be back a day sooner.” Keith elected to not tell Shiro that his most favorite possession in the entire world was being driven by an unlicensed driver. “It’s been nice.” Keith said before he could stop himself. 

Keith could practically hear Shiro smirking through the phone. “Nice, huh?” 

“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant it like the company is nice.” 

“So you like Lance’s company now? What happened to being his ‘rival’?” 

“Lance was the one who had the rivalry with me. That was his thing, not mine. Besides, we’ve become… friends?” Keith said, unsure of the word on his tongue. 

“Friends, huh? You don’t sound too confident. Do you not want to be his friend.” 

Keith knew exactly where Shiro was leading this conversation and he really didn’t want to go there, but his mind was so clouded with thoughts of Lance and he was too tired to sort through them that he let Shiro direct the conversation. 

“I mean, like I want to be his friend; my roommate is friends with him and I’m friends with his roommate so it makes sense, but I don’t know.” Keith couldn’t explain himself.

“There’s potential for something more?” 

“Maybe? I don’t know if I’m developing feelings for him because he’s vulnerable right now or because I actually like him.”

“Why does he have to go to Boston? I thought he and Hunk were going to Miami?” Shiro asked. 

“His mom called and his dad is dying. His sister is going to bring him from New York to Boston.” 

“Well, why don’t you take him to Boston. Be there for him in this hard time. He could probably really use the support and staying with him that extra amount of time might help you figure out your feelings.” 

“What?! No! I haven’t seen you since last year, I’m not going to miss this.” Keith said, phone pressed against his cheek and shoulder as he dumped the snacks and drinks he was buying on the counter. The store clerk smiled at Keith and began scanning and bagging his items as he pulled out his wallet, getting ready to pay the cashier. 

“About that… Keith, I’m not going to be able to get home this time. I’m so sorry.” 

“What? Why?” 

“My whole unit got our leave revoked. A few of the other guys decided to play a prank involving Medical’s cadavers. I’m a model soldier though, so my commanding officer promised me a leave in time for you to move back home for the summer. I’ll be able to help you move out of the dorms.” 

Keith handed the woman behind the counter the appropriate amount of money and left with the bags in his hand. 

“You really can’t make it?” 

“I’m sorry, Keith, I really am. But it’ll only be two more months until I see you again.” 

“Alright I guess. I’ll see you then.” 

Lance heard Keith’s voice and walked over to meet him halfway to the car. He took the plastic bags filled with snacks out of his hand and smiled at him. Lance motioned to the car, signalling to Keith he was going to wait in it. Keith nodded to Lance and ended his call with his brother. 

Keith put his phone in his pocket and looked at Lance through the open car window. He was opening a Twinkie and then he… kissed it? Lance kissed a Twinkie, and for some reason Keith was still finding himself attracted to him. Keith needed to up his standards big time. 

He walked over to the car and got into the driver’s seat. Keith started up the car and pulled out of the gas station, heading back onto the highway. 

“Who were you on the phone with?” Lance asked Keith with a mouth full of Twinkie. 

“Shiro called from the base. His leave got revoked.” 

“What? Why? I thought you were always talking about how great of a soldier your brother was?” 

“It wasn’t him. Some of the other guys in his unit did some prank involving medical cadavers.” 

“Aren’t those dead human bodies?” Lance asked. 

“Yeah.” 

“What joke could someone possibly pull that would be funny… that would involve a dead person?” Lance asked, confused. 

“I don’t know. He didn’t really go into detail about what happened.”

“So what are you gonna do now? Like for break?” Lance asked in what he hoped wasn’t too hopeful of a voice.

Lance had begun to appreciate Keith’s company during this trip. Keith had helped him through the emotional outbursts he had had during the trip so far. They were already in Pittsburg, meaning they only had two hours left together and Lance was dreading the thought of having to face the last part of his healing journey alone. Keith was an invaluable resource for Lance during this time and the thought of him dropping Lance off and leaving him to see his father by himself was terrifying. 

“Well I was thinking I would take you all the way to Boston. I’ve seen you go through a lot since we left school and I don’t think that you should go alone. I mean… only if you want me to.” 

“No, dude, Keith, I don’t want you to have to be around a dying man for the rest of your break. And my family can be kind of… crazy on a good day, so you can imagine how bad they’ll be now.” 

“I don’t mind, but if you really don’t want me there then I don’t have to go.” 

“Well, if you’re gonna insist then I’d love it if you came. Thank you so much, Keith.”

“It didn’t take long for me to convince you to change your mind.” Keith smirked. 

“Yeah, well, I really didn’t want to go alone. I’ll be honest with you, Keith. I’m… I’m scared. I’m really scared. I’m the only one in my family who wants to hold my dad accountable for what he did to me. Everyone else in my family doesn’t care about what he did. They don’t care that he basically forced me to move across the country. They don’t care that he ruined my life and made me doubt and hate myself, so I know that going to see him they’re going to take his side and they’re going to get mad at me if I don’t forgive him. Keith…” Lance turned to face Keith, eyes watering and threatening to spill over. “I don’t want to forgive him.” 

Keith turned his head to Lance quickly before returning his gaze to the open highway before him. Lance was starting to cry and Keith’s heart hurt at the sight. He raised his hand off of the gearshift and placed it on Lance’s cheek, using his thumb to wipe away a fallen tear. 

“You don’t have to forgive him, Lance, and I’ll be there to make sure that no one gives you any shit for not doing it.” 

“Thanks, Keith.” Lance said, taking Keith’s hand off his face and holding it in his own.

The intimacy of the moment left Keith momentarily distracted from the road, which proved disastrous when Keith couldn’t stop in time to avoid a deer antler in the middle of their lane. He swerved at the last second to try to avoid it, but he felt the car tire go over it and as the tire blew out, the car spun, eliciting a scream from both boys. Keith slammed on the brakes and the car came to an eventual stop on the shoulder of the highway. 

“Keith, are you ok?!” Lance asked, panicked. 

“Yeah I’m fine, are you alright?” 

“I think so. Pretty sure my heart stopped for a moment there, but it’s going again so I think I’m good.” 

Keith and Lance got out of the car to assess the damage. 

“Well,” Lance started. “At least Shiro isn’t coming home.” 

Keith sighed. He was screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Every kudos and comment I get make my day and push me to write more! If you like my story, share it with your friends! And if you feel like asking me questions or just want to say hi, follow me on tumblr at el-frijole.tumblr.com


	4. Infinite Number of Almosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Want the story?”   
> “What? What story?”   
> “The Keith backround story. You’ve told me some shitty childhood stories, so I think I should return the favor. We’re gonna be here a while, so why not?”   
> “Sure, then. Why the fuck not?” Lance laughed and fully turned his body to face Keith, crossing his legs and directing his full attention to Keith.   
> “So twenty years ago on October 23 I was born.”  
> “Woah, hold on. You’re older than me?” Lance asked, interrupting Keith.  
> “Please hold all questions until the end.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the length of this one being kind of on the shorter side. It's only actually a page shorter than the last chapter, but it's because I had work yesterday and today and I have a ton of schoolwork I had to do before tomorrow so it was a little rushed getting out. The final chapter will be out on Wednesday, so look forward to it!

“Alright, thanks.” Keith hung up his phone. “AAA will be here within the hour.” Keith sighed.

“So we’re stranded on the side of the highway for an hour?” 

Keith hopped up onto the hood of the car and put his head in his hands. 

“Shiro is gonna kill me.”

“Come on, it was an accident. I’m sure Shiro will forgive you. From all you’ve said about him, he really doesn’t seem like the type to get mad over something like this.” Lance said, sitting next to Keith on the hood of the car. 

“There are some limits to our brotherly love, you know.” Keith chuckled, turning to look at Lance.   
His face was illuminated by the Pittsburgh skyline and the full moon above them and Keith felt his face go red. Lance just looked so good, and not just right now, but all the time. Keith and Lance had been in a car for two days with no real sleep or showers, and yet Lance was still beautiful. 

“I’m sure that isn’t true. I know that there isn’t a lot my brothers could do that would make me hate them.” Lance said, shrugging. 

“Yeah but you guys are blood.” 

“What?” Lance asked, thoroughly confused. 

“I’m adopted, idiot.” Keith said with a laugh, bumping shoulders with Lance. 

“What?!” 

“Seriously? You didn’t know? I’m Korean.” 

“Ok, yeah, and?” 

“Shiro and my parents are Japanese!” 

“Ok, well, you can’t mock me for not knowing that because I’ve never met Shiro or your parents.” 

“Well you haven’t met my parents because they’re dead.” 

“Jesus, Keith. I’m sorry.” Lance said, turning his body towards Keith.

“It’s not a big deal, they died a while ago, when I was 15.” 

“Oh. Still though, I’m sorry.” 

Keith smiled at Lance and bumped his shoulder again. 

“Want the story?” 

“What? What story?” 

“The Keith backround story. You’ve told me some shitty childhood stories, so I think I should return the favor. We’re gonna be here a while, so why not?” 

“Sure, then. Why the fuck not?” Lance laughed and fully turned his body to face Keith, crossing his legs and directing his full attention to Keith. 

“So twenty years ago on October 23 I was born.” 

“Woah, hold on. You’re older than me?” Lance asked, interrupting Keith.

“Please hold all questions until the end.” Keith joked. “So I was born and blah blah blah my mom died in childbirth then my dad gave me up to the state because he didn’t want to be a single father so I went into foster care. I was shuffled around homes until I was 9. That’s when the Shirogane family adopted me. I was 11 when I found out that my biological father died and then when I was 15 my adoptive parents died in a car accident and it’s been me and Shiro ever since. Shiro really disliked me when I was first adopted, actually. It wasn’t until our parents died that he warmed up to the idea of having a brother. I guess the thought of being totally alone was worse than having a brother who wasn’t really related to you.” Keith shrugged. “They were good people and they were good to me, but I can’t exactly say that I miss them.” 

“What do you mean?” Lance asked, taking Keith’s hand in his, sensing Keith’s emotional distress. 

“You aren’t the only person whose parents didn’t accept their sexuality. They were really homophobic and would always try to ‘educate’ me on the proper lifestyle to have. They thought I had an affinity for other boys because of my history in foster care. They   
always wanted to blame someone for it and they thought they could because they weren’t my real parents. They wouldn’t, or rather they couldn’t, accept that maybe I was just born gay. Anyways, that’s the Keith story.” 

Lance didn’t really know what to say. He knew Keith was gay, but it hadn’t ever been officially confirmed before now. Lance was… relieved? He felt like he released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Was Lance feeling this way because he liked Keith? And knowing he had a shot relieved him? Lance rarely had a shot with the people he flirted with or liked, so finding out for certain that Keith, who Lance had grown very close to during the trip, was gay was… kind of awesome. 

“You’re gay?”

“Ok, that I know you knew. There’s not way you didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, I knew, but like, I didn’t know, you know? You never officially came out to me, so I was in that weird limbo of ‘yeah, he’s totally gay, but there’s still that 1% chance he isn’t’.” Lance said, laughing. 

“There was seriously doubt in your mind about my sexuality until right now? Seriously, Lance I just ran over a deer antler, stranding us on the side of the highway for an hour, because your beautiful face was distracting me from the road.”

“What?” Lance asked, looking shocked.

“What?” Keith replied quickly, face turning red. 

Lance’s shocked face melted into a smug smirk. 

“My beautiful face, huh?” 

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Keith sighed, resigning himself to mocking from Lance. 

“Well you aren’t too bad to look at yourself.” Lance said, squeezing Keith’s hand that he was still holding. 

“What?” 

“You heard me, Mullet.”

“I don’t think I did. You might have to repeat yourself.” Keith taunted, smirk present on his face. 

Lance rolled his eyes before he placed his left hand on the back of Keith’s head, right hand still holding Keith’s, and pulled Keith’s body closer to his. Keith, in anticipation for what was to happen, closed his eyes. Keith and Lance both leaned towards each other, both ready for what was to happen next. Lance could feel Keith’s hot breath on his own lips. Just before Lance could feel the brush of Keith’s soft lips against his own, a loud honk startled him, causing him to jolt forward and headbutt Keith. 

“Ow!” Keith yelled. “What the fuck, Lance?!” 

“Sorry! I just got startled.” Lance said, rubbing his forehead. 

Keith sighed and slid off the hood of the car and began walking over the truck that had pulled up behind the car. 

“Hi, Keith, right? ‘74 Camaro blew a tire?” The driver asked Keith as he looked at a clipboard. 

“Yeah the front right.” 

“Alright, it shouldn’t be more than ten minutes to change it for you, but you should take it to a mechanic as soon as possible to make sure no lasting or serious damage was done to the car itself.” 

“Ok, thanks.” Keith said and walked back over to Lance while the AAA guy walked back to his truck to get the spare tire. 

Keith and Lance stood side by side in silence while the AAA guy changed the blown tire on Blueberry. It only took twelve minutes before he bid his farewells to Keith and Lance and went on his merry way. The two got back into the car and Keith started her up, turned on the lights, and pulled back onto the highway. No words were exchanged between Keith and Lance, the only sounds heard in the car were the soft sounds of Beyonce songs that Lance had put on when they got back into the car. It wasn’t long before Lance fell asleep and Keith was left alone to his thoughts, the subject of what almost happened left unbroached by both boys. Maybe in the morning they would talk about it. 

…

Keith shook Lance awake at midnight. They were parked on a street in what Lance could only assume was New York City. 

“Where are we?” 

“New York.” 

“Why?”

“We’re gonna spend the night at my place. We can get some real sleep and then shower in the morning before doing the last four hours to Boston, that way you can see you family feeling refreshed.” Keith said before getting out of the car and locking the driver’s side door after himself. 

Keith slung his bag over his shoulder and walked around to the passenger’s side. He got the door for Lance, who was reaching into the backseat for his own bag. He got out and Keith locked the door before shutting it. Keith then walked across the street and   
down a few buildings to his own home that was left to him and Shiro by their parents. 

“Holy shit, Keith, this place is nice!” Lance said, eyeing the building Keith led them to. 

“Yeah it’s all ours, too.” 

“This whole building is yours? It’s not like… split into different apartments?” 

“Nope. All ours.” Keith said, shrugging in indifference. 

“Dude, come on. Is that Central Park across the street?” 

"Lance, come on.” Keith sighed, not wanting to go into detail about his wealth at this moment in time. 

All Keith wanted right now was to sleep in a real bed and take a hot shower. The fact that Lance apparently didn’t feel the same was baffling. 

“You’ve been holding out on me, Keith. All this time I thought you were some middle class nobody like myself.” 

“Well no one tries to befriend you just for your money when you’re a middle class nobody.” Keith said, dumping his bag on the pristine, white couch in his open-concept living room. 

“Dude, this place is amazing! You seriously have lived the life. I wish I was adopted into a rich family, like, damn, this seems like an awesome lifestyle. I wish I could’ve been you growing up.” Lance said, dropping his bag at the door to walk around the room and check everything out. 

“Well if you want the Keith Experience then go cry out on that balcony. It’s how I spent most of my nights. Wealth isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, you know. If you need me I’ll be in my room, sleeping. I don’t care where you sleep, just find a bed and pass out.” Keith said, walking the familiar path down the hallway and into his room. 

“Keith! Keith come on! I didn’t mean any harm!” Lance called after Keith, but Keith kept walking, ignoring Lance’s calls for him. 

Keith stripped himself of his clothes down to his boxers. He was too tired to shower, so he planned on taking a shower in the morning after he’d gotten some real sleep in a real bed. He was pulling back the comforter of his bed when the door he may or may not have slammed shut opened to reveal Lance. Lance walked into the room and took off his shirt and his pants. 

“What are you doing, Lance?” Keith sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sat on the edge of his bed, so close to sleep, yet thanks to Lance, so far.

“Getting ready for bed.” Lance shrugged, pulling back the corner of Keith’s comforter opposite Keith. 

“Ok, seriously, Lance. Go somewhere else to sleep.” 

“You told me you didn’t care where I slept. You told me to just find a bed and pass out.” Lance said, mocking Keith’s voice. 

“Yeah, not my bed!” 

“Too late. Besides, I’ve gotten accustomed to sleeping next to you.”

Keith didn’t know how to respond to that. He, too, had gotten used to sleeping next to Lance and hadn’t really thought about how this was going to be their first time in two days sleeping apart.

And, Keith thought. Lance is going to see his dad tomorrow. The time has finally come for him to face him. If I were him I wouldn’t want to be alone tonight, either.

“Whatever, just don’t hog my blanket and stay on your side.” 

“Hog the blanket? It’s like 90 degrees in here!” Lance complained. 

“I turned on the central air so it’ll get colder.” 

“Central air, too?! Fucking rich people.” Lance mumbled jokingly, eliciting a kick from Keith. 

“Goodnight, Lance.” Keith said in a tone that strongly suggested no further conversation should be attempted. 

“Night, Keith.” 

“And Lance?” 

“Yeah?” 

“... Don’t worry too much about tomorrow. I’ll be right there with you.”

“Thanks, Keith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my writing please let me know! Leave kudos and a comment and possibly follow me on tumblr at el-frijole.tumblr.com


	5. Detour to Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter, the end of an adventure, the conclusion of a story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry I didn't get this out yesterday, I was really busy with school work and I wanted to make sure I didn't rush myself with this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!

Lance awoke to find himself pinned to the bed, captured in Keith’s arms and stuck under his head. A head that was, Lance noted, drooling. He took note of where all his own body parts were. His right arm was resting on top of Keith’s left arm, the arm that was draped around Lance’s torso, and his left arm was wrapped around Keith’s waist, seemingly holding on for dear life. 

Lance loosened his grip on Keith and tried to slide out from under him without waking him, but subtlety was never really Lance’s strong suit, so Keith woke up anyways. 

“Sorry, I was trying not to wake you up.” Lance said, apologetic. 

“It’s fine. What time is it?” Keith asked, yawning and stretching in the bed. 

“Six.” Lance said, standing and stretching his own body. 

“We should shower and get going then.” Keith said, now getting up out of the bed. 

“Woah, take a guy to dinner first.” Lance teased and Keith’s face flushed red. 

“You know what I meant, Lance.” 

“Yeah, yeah. So who’s gonna go first?” Lance asked. 

“We have multiple showers? We can both go at the same time.” Keith said, confused as to why they would have to schedule their showers. 

“Dude, you are lucky. I had to share one shower with two brothers and three sisters.” 

“That sounds awful. Shiro takes forever in the shower, I couldn’t imagine having to wait for him to finish.” Keith said, walking out of his bedroom with Lance trailing behind so he could get clothes from his bag. 

“Believe me, it’s the worst.” Lance sighed, picking up his own bag and placing it on the coffee table so he could rifle through it. “The girls are triplets so they would all go into the bathroom together and just chat while they waited for each other to finish in the shower. They would rotate. Shower then makeup while the other showered then makeup while the third showered. It was awful. If they went in at once I would’ve at least been able to sneak in between showers and brush my teeth or hair, but nope, they never gave us the opportunity.” Lance looked off into the distance, to the sun rising over Central Park. He looked like he was reliving battle. “Anyways, where is the shower I can use?” He asked, arms full of clothes and toiletries. 

“Use mine. It’s attached to my room. I’ll use Shiro’s.” Keith said, walking into a room that was a little ways up the hall from his own bedroom. 

Lance walked back down the hall towards Keith’s room and opened the first door he saw. Turns out, that door led to a closet, a walk-in closet, Lance noted, closing the door. The second door he tried led to the bathroom and he set his toiletries down on the counter next to the shower, so he could easily reach them. Lance turned on the water and stripped, stepping under the welcoming warm water. 

When their showers were finished, both boys dressed themselves and completed their respective morning routines now that they had a real bathroom to do so in. Lance did a facemask and Keith tried for ten minutes to tame his hair. They met back up in the living room when they were both finished, each shoving their remaining miscellaneous items back into their bags. 

“Ready?” Keith asked, looking at Lance.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Lance said, draping his duffle bag across his shoulders. 

“No, Lance, not ready to go, I meant are you ready to do this? To face your father and your family?” 

“Not at all. Let’s go.” 

Lance was let out of the apartment first so Keith could lock up behind them. He had made sure to shut off everything he had turned on like the central air and all the lights. The two then walked back down the street towards where Keith had parked. Keith unlocked the car when they got to it and got into the driver’s seat, twisting his body to throw his duffle bag into the seat behind him. Lance did the same and within just minutes of leaving the apartment, they were on their way. 

…

If Lance was being honest with himself, that four hour drive went way too quickly. He wanted it to feel like four hours, not four minutes. But no, what felt like four minutes since they left Keith’s apartment they were now in the parking garage for Mass General. 

Keith was the first to get out of the car. He stood outside the car, waiting for Lance, for ten minutes before he walked around to the passenger’s side of the car and opened Lance’s door. 

“Lance? We should go inside now.” 

“I know.” 

“But you aren’t moving. Are you ok?” 

“No? Yes? I don’t know. I’m not really feeling anything. I think I’ve shut down.” Lance mumbled the last part. 

“ … Let’s go back.”

“What?” Lance asked, finally turning to face Keith.

“Let’s go back to New York. We can just spend the rest of break hanging out before we have to go back. This is clearly destroying you emotionally and I hate seeing you like this, so let’s just go.” 

Lance thought about it for a moment before he shook his head vigorously. He couldn’t do that. He needed to do this and his dad needed to hear what he had to say. 

“No, I have to do this. I’m not going to run away again. I’m done running.” Lance said, getting out of the car finally. He grabbed Keith’s arms and pulled him into a hug. “Please don’t leave me alone in there unless I ask, ok? Don’t let my family try to bully you out.” 

“Alright.” Keith said, returning Lance’s hug. “Ready?” 

“Yeah.” 

Keith and Lance exited the parking garage and walked into the main entrance to Mass General. 

“I’m looking for Joseph McClain.” 

“He’s in the I.C.U. Are you family?” 

“Yeah. Biological son and adopted son.” 

“Room 437. You’ll have to go to the nurse’s station on that floor before you can see him.” 

“Thank you.” Lance said, leading Keith through the lobby towards the elevators. 

“Have you been here before?” Keith asked, intrigued at the way Lance seemed to know the exact path to take to the elevator. 

“Yeah. With six kids my parents tended to be here a lot and they didn’t always have a babysitter to watch us and would have to take us with them.” Lance said, pressing the button for the fourth floor when they got into the elevator. 

When they arrived at the I.C.U., Lance approached the nurse’s station and asked permission to see his father. One of the nurses led Keith and Lance to a room with a closed door. 

“He’s inside. The rest of your family is inside already.” The nurse said with a smile before leaving to go back to her station. 

Lance hesitated outside the door, unwilling and unready to enter. 

“Hey,” Keith said, taking Lance’s hand in his own. “You’re going to be ok. I’m here for you.” 

“Thanks.” Lance said, squeezing Keith’s hand. 

Still holding Keith’s hand, Lance turned the handle on the door and pushed it inwards, revealing a full room of people. 

Keith first took notice of the man lying in the bed in the center of the room. He was hooked up to many machines and his eyes were closed, breath coming softly, implying to Keith he was asleep. He then noticed the older woman sitting next to the sleeping man. She had crow’s feet wrinkles in the corners of her eyes, which were red and swollen, most likely from crying so much this past week. There were three young girls, appearing to be a few years older than Keith and all appearing to be the same age to each other. There were two boys also in the room. One looking older than him and one looking a few years younger. 

_“I have two brothers and three sisters.” Lance said. “Danny is the oldest at 25. The triplets are María-Virginia, Magdalena, and Marisol and they’re 23. Then there’s me at 20 and Neil at 17. My mom is named María-Christina. She’s 46 and my dad, Joseph, is 50.” Lance finished his sentence by shoving some french fries into his mouth. “And that’s my family.” Lance said, mouth full._

Keith recalled everyone’s names, thankfully, so he wouldn’t have to awkwardly ask later on. Lance’s mother noticed the door open and stood up, rushing over to her third son. She pried Lance away from Keith and pulled him into a hug. 

“Mijo, I’m so glad you made it. He doesn’t have much time left. He’ll be glad to see you. He’s been asking about you.” María-Christina said, pulling a tissue out of her pocket and wiping away fresh tears. 

“I’m sure he has.” Lance said sarcastically. 

“Lance! Be nice to your father this last time! I couldn’t handle it if you two fought now!” 

“Mamá, stop being dramatic.” 

“Lance, stop fighting with mamá, please. We’re all tired and we don’t need this right now.” Magdalena said, walking between Lance and their mother to separate the two. 

“God, Maggie, you always take her side!” 

“She’s our mother, Lance, what do you want me to do? Take your side?” 

“YES!” 

The room was quickly devolving. María-Christina was sobbing, Lance and Magdalena were arguing, their voices rising with each word, María-Virginia had a hand on both Lance and Magdalena trying to separate them both, but just pissing Lance off more since she was taking her sister’s side. Danny and Neil were trying to console their mother and the whole time Keith just stood there in the doorway. He knew it wasn’t his place, but he had to do something. 

“Lance,” Keith started, but paused, compiling all the confidence he had in his body. “Lance would like to talk to his father alone. It’s why he came here, so could we please leave the two of them alone?” 

The room suddenly became deathly silent, everyone turning their full attention to Keith. 

“And just who do you think you are?” María-Christina asked, sadness replaced by anger, stalking over to where Keith stood. 

That’s when the most unexpected thing happened. Lance got between his mother and Keith, standing protectively in front of him.

“Keith is my boyfriend and he’s sticking up for me, like at least some of you should be doing! I want to talk to dad alone, so can everyone please wait in the hall?” Lance wasn’t asking. 

No one moved for a moment, but slowly everyone began to file out. Lance held onto Keith to prevent him from leaving, too. Lance’s father still lied asleep in bed, though there were signs of him beginning to stir, which was most likely due to the fighting that had just taken place. When everyone was out of the room, Lance pulled Keith in closer to him. 

“Thank you, for what you did.” 

“It’s what you brought me here for. Of course I’m gonna make sure you get to do what you came for.” 

“They’re gonna try to intimidate you out there. Don’t let them get to you.” Lance said, a small, joking smile on his face. 

“If I can put up with you for two days straight, I think I can handle your family.” Keith joked back. 

“You’d be surprised.” Lance laughed. 

There was a moment of peaceful silence between the boys before Keith turned to leave and Lance stopped his motions by grabbing Keith by the cheeks and pulling him into a kiss. It wasn’t anything like he had planned their first kiss to be, but it was still perfect. Keith wasted no time returning the kiss, which relieved Lance, to know that he hadn’t made a huge mistake. When the two parted, Keith laughed. 

“What?” Lance asked, blissful smile present on his face. 

“Nothing, just thinking about how this is a great way to start a relationship. You call me your boyfriend to you family without even consulting me first then you make us have our first kiss in front of your dying father in the I.C.U. at Mass General.” Keith laughed.

“It’ll be a story for the grandkids.” Lance smirked, backing away from Keith. “Now go so I can talk to that asshole.” Lance said, pointing over his shoulder to where his dad lied on his bed. 

“Good luck. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” Keith said, exiting the room and walking straight into a crowd of confused McClains. 

Lance walked over and sat in the chair that his mother had occupied when he first walked in, the chair that was pulled up right next to the hospital bed. Lance’s father opened his eyes as soon as Lance sat down. 

“Lance.” 

“Dad.” 

There was silence. 

“Before you say anything, son, I want to ask you a favor.” 

“Really? You want me to do a favor for you? After everything?” Lance was getting pissed already. 

“Please, son. Do your dying dad one favor, then you can say whatever you need to.” 

“God, fine, what? What do you want?” Lance said, jumping up from his seat.

“Can you send in that male nurse that was just here? I need to ask him something private.”

“What? Dad, that wasn’t a nurse!” 

“Please, son.” 

Lance looked into his father’s eyes. They seemed so hollow; so close to death. Lance sighed, resigning himself to his task. 

“Fine, but when he comes in here and tells you he isn’t a nurse, don’t be mad at me, though I’m sure you will be anyways.” Lance mumbled, walking out of the room and over to the seats where his family was talking to Keith. 

“Keith, my dad thinks you’re a nurse and wants to speak to you privately. He wouldn’t drop it so just go in there and tell him you aren’t a nurse please so I can say what I have to say.” 

Keith stood up and walked past Lance and into the room. 

“Mr. McClain?” Keith asked, slowly opening the door. 

“Yes, come in, please. Have a seat.” 

“Sir, I’m not a nurse.” Keith said, walking closer to the bed. 

“Do I look stupid to you? Of course you aren’t! Now have a seat so we can chat.” 

Keith was confused, but decided to do as the man had asked. He walked over to the chair next to the bed and took a seat, positioning himself to face Mr. McClain. 

“Did you need me for something? Because I know Lance really has something he wants to say to you…” Keith began, but was interrupted by Mr. McClain’s hand resting on Keith’s leg. 

“It’s Keith, right?” 

Keith just nodded, staying silent. 

“Keith, I’m dying and I don’t have much longer on this earth. I have lived 50 years on this planet, but my time has run out. I’ve had six beautiful children and I tried to raise them right. The only problem with that is that my ‘right’ wasn’t right.” 

Keith gave Mr. McClain a confused look, but didn’t speak up, allowing the dying man to continue telling Keith his story. 

“A parent should raise their child in an atmosphere of complete love and acceptance. Did your parents do that for you, Keith?” 

“No, sir. They… they didn’t.” 

“That’s a shame, a damn shame. You’re a fine young man and you deserved to have fine parents. The same is true for Lance. He didn’t have the perfect home life and he didn’t grow up in an atmosphere of total acceptance and love, and that’s my fault. I spent my entire adult life raising Lance and what do I have to show for it? Now that I’m dying I’ve had the time to reflect on my life. I tried to raise Lance to be my kind of ‘right’, but look what that got me. He hates me. I’m on my deathbed and the only thing Lance wants to say to me is how much I ruined his life and how much he despises me. And I don’t blame him for that. He’s right to feel that way. I was a terrible father.” 

“I don’t understand, Mr. McClain, but why are you telling me all this?” 

Mr. McClain chuckled, then coughed for a few moments before continuing his story. “I’ll let you in on a secret, Keith.” Mr. McClain said. “Dying sucks. Not because I’m no longer going to exists and because I’m going to leave my family without me, but because I’ve had to come to terms with what I’ve done in life. I’ve had to look back at everything I’ve done so I could see why I was here under these exact circumstances. I looked at myself when I first arrived and it all finally clicked. Danny was here out of obligation to María-Christina. His mother needed support, so he came to her aide. Neil is only here because he’s only 17 and he pretty much can’t just not be here.” Mr. McClain let out a chuckle at his own expense. “The girls are also only here because of their mother, and Lance only came to tell me off. None of my children are here for me, and I know that. I spent my entire parenting career trying not to be my own father, but my father beat me, so I had set the bar so low for myself that when I looked back and hadn’t beat my children I saw myself as a successful parent, but that’s not true. Successful parenting is about raising your children to be the best versions of themselves.” Mr. McClain paused to wipe tears from his eyes. “And I tried to prevent Lance from being the best version of himself, which was his true self. I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I’ve learned that, now. When you can be honest and open with yourself about who you are, then you are already your best self, and I just wouldn’t accept Lance’s best self. So he grew up resenting not only me, but also himself. I could always see it, you know, in his eyes. Whenever I would see him around town on a date with a boy there would be a look in his eyes, a look of sadness, and anger, and resentment. He was feeling those things towards himself because I tried to stifle who he was.” 

“But, sir, I’m still not sure why you’re telling this to me.” Keith said, confused and unsure of this entire conversation. 

“Because, Keith, when Lance was with you just now, he didn’t have that look in his eyes. He was truly happy with you and truly sure of himself and I’ve never seen that much love on his face. You did what I failed to do. You gave Lance the love and support to be his true self, and for that, I’m eternally grateful. I just wanted you to know that. I hate myself for taking this long to figure it out, but better late than never, right?”

Keith didn’t know how to respond or what to say.

“I don’t know what to say.” Keith said.

“You don’t have to say anything. I really just wanted to thank you for loving my son. And if you don’t mind, I’d be grateful if you could send him in again. I want him to get to say everything he needs to.”

Keith stood up and gave Mr. McClain a soft smile. He turned and walked across the room and to the door. Keith paused to look back at Mr. McClain, who had his eyes shut and looked like he was trying to regain his breath after talking so much. Keith exited the room and walked back over to where the rest of the McClain family was waiting quietly in chairs lined up along the wall. 

When Lance saw Keith he jumped up and met him in the middle of the hallway. 

“What took so long? Is he ok? Did he die?” 

“No. He just wanted to talk to me about something, but he’s ready for you to say your peace. He wants to hear what you have to say.”

Lance looked surprised, but nodded at Keith anyways and walked to his father’s room. He opened the door and let himself in, walking over to the chair once occupied by his mother, then Keith. Lance sat down next to his father, who turned his head and smiled lovingly at his son. 

“Dad, I don’t want you to interrupt me while I’m talking. I’m going to say everything I need to say so I can have a clean conscience when you die.” 

“Pleasant way of putting it, Lance, but continue. I’m ready to listen now.” 

Lance knew his father didn’t mean that he was ready to listen to his speech, but rather that he was ready to finally hear Lance and his true voice. 

“I hate you, dad. Or at least I thought I did. I’m still not sure on that. For most of the trip here I felt guilty for hating you, but you’ve done so many shitty things to me that I would then get mad at myself for feeling guilty. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I can’t really pin down how I feel about you, but overall it’s mostly not good. You denied my sexuality and who I was for my entire life. You tried to get me to live your truth rather than my own. You weren’t a father to me and I can’t exactly say that I feel sorry that you’re going to die.” Lance said, tears glistening in the corner of his eyes, but his steeled heart refused to let them fall. 

“I understand, Lance. I hate me, too. I’ve looked back on the things I’ve done since I’ve been in here and I didn’t like what I saw. I wasn’t a good father to any of my kids, but you especially. You were the different one of six and you were the one who needed the most love, but instead I gave you the most trouble. I tried so hard to not be my father, but in the end I failed. You faced abuse at my hands and I can never hope to be forgiven for that. But I’ve done a lot of thinking and a lot of regretting. I spent too long hating who you were. As a parent, I shouldn’t hate any part of my kid for any amount of time. I’m sorry, Lance. I’m glad you were able to salvage yourself from the wreckage I caused. Keith brings out the best of you, I can tell, and I’m glad you have him in your life.” 

Lance didn’t say anything; he couldn’t say anything. What was there even to say? Nothing was left to say between the two. Words were neither of their strong suit, so they sat in silence for a while, until the heart monitor started to slow. Lance jumped out of his seat. 

“Dad?! Dad?!” 

“Hush, son, I’m still here.” His father responded, though it was raspy and slow to be said. 

“Dad, I’m sorry. I want to forgive you in your dying moments, but I just can’t.” The tears Lance had been holding in spilled over onto his cheeks. “I don’t know what to do, dad.” Lance said. 

“It’s alright, son.” His dad said, lifting an arm to bring his son into a hug. “You don’t have to forgive me now. You have your entire life to decide to forgive me or not. There’s no deadline for things like this, they just happen when the universe decides you’re ready, just as it did for me, and just as it will do for you.” 

“Thanks, dad.” Lance sniffled, crying more. “I can’t forgive you right now, but I promise that one day I will get to that point.” 

“That’s all I can ask of you, son. Tell everyone that I love them, alright?”

“Dad, no, come on, don’t talk like that.” Lance said, putting on a smile to pretend like everything was fine even though new tears were cascading down his face. 

“Lance, I love you and I love everything about who you are. I’m sorry it took me so long to see that.” 

“I love you, too, dad.” 

And just like that, it was over. 

…

Lance and Keith lied together on Lance’s childhood bed in his childhood room in his childhood home in Boston. It had been a day since Lance’s father passed and Lance and Keith had not yet talked about what happened between each of them and Lance’s father. They had decided, though, on the way back to Lance’s house after the ordeal at the hospital was over, that they would spend the rest of their break in Boston so they could attend the wake and funeral of Joseph McClain. 

Lance rolled onto his side, facing Keith, who also rolled onto his side so he could see Lance. 

“What did he say to you?” Lance asked, not meeting Keith’s eyes. 

“What?” 

“When he said he wanted to speak with you, what did he tell you?” Lance now met Keith’s eyes and Keith could feel those powerful blue orbs bearing through his skull as if Lance was trying to read his mind. 

“He… told me… that he was sorry for the things he did. He told me that he used to see you around town with boys out on dates and he used to see the way your smile wouldn’t reach your eyes, and he knew it was his fault. He said that he was glad you… uh… outgrew that.” 

Lance smiled at Keith and leaned forward to peck his lips. 

“What did he really say?” 

Keith sighed. Of course Lance figured out his bluff. He always could, after all. 

“He said he was glad you found me and that you seemed like you could really be your true self with me there.” Keith paused for a moment, battling himself over whether or not to say the rest of what was on his mind. “He said he was glad you had me to love.” 

Lance dawned a surprised expression. God, why did Keith say that?! That was too far, Keith, too far. But Lance’s surprise faded into a soft smile and he kissed Keith again, but longer this time. Keith’s mind was so blissed out he couldn’t stop himself from pulling away and asking Lance what was in the back of his mind. 

“Do you?” Keith asked, breathing slightly faster than normal after separating from the kiss. 

“Do I what?” Lance asked, resting his head back on his pillow. 

“Love… me?” Keith whispered, nervous to ask such a question. 

Lance just kept smiling at Keith. 

“You drove me across the country and stuck by me through my dad dying. I feel like loving you is the least I can do.” Lance joked and Keith lightly punched his chest. 

“I’m being serious!” Keith exclaimed, blush covering his face. Of course Lance would make light of a situation like this. 

“I know. And yeah. I hate to say it, but my old man was right.” Lance shuffled his way closer to Keith and pressed his body against the other boy’s. “I love you, Keith. I asked you to take me to Boston and you took me on a detour straight to your heart.” 

Keith couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and Lance joined in too. 

“You fucking nerd!” Keith laughed, rolling onto his back and laughing some more. 

“I know, but that’s why you love me.” Lance said, trying to prompt Keith into answering a question he didn’t ask. 

“I love you, too, Lance, don’t worry.” 

“Few, for a second there I was pretty nervous.” Lance said, causing Keith to break out into more laughter. 

The two lied in Lance’s childhood bed in his childhood bedroom in his childhood home laughing and kissing and laughing some more for the rest of the night. 

…

“Bro, you gotta tell me, how was Miami?!” Lance yelled as soon as he saw Hunk and Pidge entering the dorm building. 

Lance and Keith had arrived back on campus twelve hours before Hunk and Pidge got back and had decided to ambush them when they were due back. 

“Oh hey guys. Nice to see you’re both alive. Thanks for texting us and letting us know you didn’t die in a firey car crash or ripped each other’s throats out.” Pidge said sarcastically.

“Sorry about not texting.” Keith said.

“Tell! Me! About! Miami!” Lance said, extremely excited to hear about all the fun things Pidge and Hunk had done over break. 

“It was fine, Lance.” Hunk laughed. “We just hung out at the beach every day. No big deal. We really didn’t do anything exciting.” 

“God you guys are so lame!” 

“So how did things go with your dad?” Pidge asked. 

“He died. I got to say the things I needed to say and then he died. The wake was Wednesday and the funeral and Mercy Meal were Thursday.” Lance said. 

“I’m so sorry, Lance.” 

“Don’t be.” 

“He was still your father, though.” Pidge said. 

“Debatable. Anyways, did you get me anything?” 

“Of course, bro.” Hunk said. “It’s in my suitcase. I’ll give it to you when we get back to the room.” 

“Speaking of, can we go put our bags down and unpack? I spent way too much time around large groups of people, so I don’t want to be in the lobby when people start arriving.” Pidge said.

“I guess.” Lance sighed dramatically. Since Pidge and Keith lived on the opposite wing of the building from Hunk and Lance, this is where they would part. “We will be reconvening for dinner though, 5pm sharp!” Lance said, eliciting a laugh from everyone. “Ok, I’m gonna go drag Hunk upstairs so I can get my present. See you at dinner.” Lance said to Keith, giving him a short kiss on the lips before pulling away and grabbing Hunk and dragging him behind him towards the elevator chanting the word ‘present’. 

“Hi, yeah, one quick question: what the actual, literal fuck?” Pidge asked, staring at Keith. He had a lot of explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here we are, the end of the story. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and commenting and leaving kudos, they all mean the world to me! If you've grown fond of me, consider following me on tumblr at el-frijole.tumblr.com


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